Visiting Holy Places

[Guest guest]

Whenever we visit Holy Places we must take special care not to annoy the residents of such places. They are already empowered by the Lord to dispense spiritual energy, and they are serving the Lord. For example if we visit a place like Tirupati, we must regard every priest there as a servant of the Lord, doing his prescribed duty. We must not be annoyed by what they say. Sometimes due to the crowds in the Darshan Queue, the priests also become irritated, so the people in the que must behave peacefully and not shout and talk loudly, but patiently wait for their time for Darshan.This year, when I got the chance to see the Lord at Tirupati, I was very fortnate indeed. We travelled from Delhi via Hyderabad, despite the fog, and despite many warnings from relatives not to fly. When we reached Tirupati, it was so wonderful, we forgot all about the fog problems in Delhi. Strangely for the three or four days (3rd to 6th January) there were no flight delays due to fog, and we returned safely back to Delhi on 4th night, after having Darshan at Tirupati. My experience in the queue was very interesting. SOmeone behind me kept pushing trying to make me go ahead. My wife was ahead of me. I did not get annoyed but at one moment I simply looked back once, and that person started behaving properly after that.At the Temple, we were wanting some signs of mercy from the Lord, and suddenly a priest appeared and gave us a Tilaka Paste kept on a Paan Leaf.This was the most wonderful gift from the Lord. I still keep some of that paste as memory at tghe Altar.At Pushkarni we had a cold bath, the Kund was so peaceful and pleasant. If anyone wants to see some of the legally allowed pictures I took at Tirupati, they can visit the site :http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/punjsanjeev/TirupatiTrip and check out the pictures.It is not possible to carry the camera into the Temple area for security and other reasons.In fact there are no available photographs as such of the Deity, only paintings created by artists are available. What we experience there cannot be depicted by picture alone, it is a complete experience, sight, sound, smell, feeling, and even taste (after you have the Laddu).Such a complete experience is blissful and soul satisfying. All I wish is that all members of this group get to visit Tirupati at least once in their lifetime. May the grace of the Lord be with all of you.

Tips: Visiting first time? Invariably please visit the Temple of Lord Varahaswami, situated next to the Main Temple, and do take a bath at the Pushkarni Kund.This is the order of the Lord Himself, and should not be defied. If it is a short trip, you can complete it by visiting the Lord thereafter, but you must visit Varahaswami Temple first then the Main Temple of the Lord Venkatesa, also known as Lord Tirupati,, and then when you go down the Hill, please visit Padmavati Temple , without which any visit to Tirupati is incomplete. If you have more time, add as many other Teerthas that you can to your iterinary. If you can wear a Dhoti while visiting the Temple, please do that, that is the best item to wear in the Darshan, for men. Nver display anger at Holy places, you lose your Punya at the very moment when you get angry.Be patient with vendors who are there selling small artifacts. They also serve you by providing beautiful images and items for your personal collection. Wishing you all a good trip.